Surgeon&#39;s-needle holder.



A. F. SETHER. SURGEONS NEEDLE HOLDER. I APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1908.

Patented Nov. 24', 1908.

iii WW ALVIN F. SETHER, OF GLENDALE, OREGON.

SURGEONS-NEEDLE HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 24, 1908.

Application filed July 2, 1908. Serial No. 441,534..

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIN F. SETHER, M. D., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Glendale, in the county of Douglas and State ofOregon, have invented a new and useful Surgeons- Needle Holder, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to surgical needle holders; and has for itsobject to provide a simple, strong and efficient instrument adapted tohold with great security and firmness needles of various shapes andsizes. To this end the parts of the instrument are so designed andarranged that the tip, usually found on needle holders is caused torecede when the instrument is o ened to receive a needle thereby leaving0 ear and unobstructed the lip onwhich the needle is placed, and whenthe instrument is closed to grasp the needle, the tip is moved inwardlyover the lip so that its under surface shall form one of the threebearing surfaces by which the needle is clamped, thejother two bearingsurfaces being the jawsof the holder. j i

Another advantagederived from making the tip movable is the ease,convenience and rapidity with which a needle can be grasped forwithdrawing it from the tissues after a partial passage therethrough, aconvenience highly appreciated where deep seated sutures are to beclosed and the working space is limited. V 1;

A further advantage possessed by this instrument resided in the smallnumber of parts, their strength commensurate with their size and theease with which the parts may be wholly separated and rendered asepticby any of the well known methods in use.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of the novelconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter describedand claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a side'elevation of the needle holder in closed position;Fig. 2 a like view of the upper part in open position, enlarged; Figs. 3and 4 are views similar to Fig. 2 but with a part broken away in eachview illustrating respectively the open and closed position of the jaws;and Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the several parts of the jawsdetached and separated one from another.

Similar reference characters are used for the same parts in all thefigures.

The needle holder of the present invention comprises two clamping jawsor members A and B separably pivoted together at 1. in well knownmanner. The member A is made narrow, flattened at its forward end 2 andprovided on its inner face a short distance within the end withprojecting lips 3 also fiat on their forward sides and preferablybeveled towards the jaw A. The lips 3 project but slightly, sufficientonly to form stops or rests for the needle. A central slot 4: is formedtransversely through the outer end of the member A and divides it intotwo cheek plates 5 and 6, see Fig. 5, connected by a bridge piece 7 attheir forward ends and a like bridge piece 8 in rear of the lips 3, the

latter projecting one from each cheek plate.

A supplemental clamping member 0 arranged to cooperate with the membersA and B is seated within the slot 4 and carries at its forward end asubstantially hemispherical tip 9 adapted to cover and extend inwardlyover the forward end 2 of the jaw or member A and over the lips 8. Thetip 9 projects inwardly from. the body of the member (1' and has a flatunder face which forms a bearing surface for the needle. A suitabledistance below the tip 9, the member C is widened for the formationtherein of a notch 11 opening towards the tip so as to engage the underside of the bridge piece 7 and rock thereon. A downwardly and inwardlyprojecting curved finger 12 forms the lower terminal of the member C,the use of which finger will be described later.

The member B is of substantially the same length as member A but widerat its forward end 13 which is downwardly inclined from withoutinwardly. The extra width is produced by an inward projection 14 adaptedto enter the slot 4 between the bridge pieces 7 and 8. and the lips 3when the instrument is in closed position. The member B is cut out at 15just below the projection 14: for the widened part of the member C toenter when the needle holder is closed.

A notch 16 is formed in the member B at the upper and widened part 17thereof where the member A crosses the member B at the pivotal point,into which notch the finger 12 on the member C is seated when the partsare assembled, for the purpose of rocking said member when the members Aand B are opened and closed. In open position of the needle holder the,tip 9 on the member C is moved back of the inner face of the member Aand the lip 8 thereon; but, when the members A and B are broughttogether to grasp a needle, the finger 12 on the member C is moved bythe member B towards the member A thus causing the tip 9 to advance overthe end of the members A and B and the lip 3.

The jaws or members A and B are provided with handles 18 and 19respectively, a spring 20 for normally holding the members in openposition, and with an interlocking catch 21 on the ends of the handlesto hold said members closed on the needle. These parts of the needleholder are common in the art and require no further description.

To insert a needle in the needle holder, open the holder as in Figs. 2and t and hold it upright as shown in said figures with tip 9 retractedand the lips 3 entirely exposed. If a needle, of any size or shape, beplaced on said lips and the handles compressed, the jaws or members Aand B will approach each other, rocking the member C to bring the tip 9over the lips 3. hen the member B reaches the lips 3, its inclined end13 strikes the needle and raises it into contact with the under face 10of the tip 9 and the inner face of the member A and the bridge 7 seeFig. 3. Continuing the movement of the handles, which are resilient,until the parts of the catch at the ends thereof are looked, greatpressure is brought to bear on the needle by the three surfaces forminga crude triangle, which are in contact with it. When large needles areused it is obvious that the clamping surfaces will not approach so closeto each other as with needles of lesser diameter, but they will be heldwith a greater force as the interlocking ends of the handles will be ata greater distance from each other.

After inserting a needle in the suture as far as possible, it is onlynecessary to disconnect the interlocking clamp in the usual manner andlet the spring 20 open the jaws or members A and B. This movement of theaws will carry the tip 9 from beneath, or free of the needle and whollydisconnect the holder from the needle, so that it may be Withdrawnquickly without extra effort usual on the part of the operator toseparate the hooked end of a fixed tip needle holder from the needle andfrom surrounding tissues. In the stationary tip instruments the innerend must be moved bodily in order to release the needle. This is oftenimpossible in numerous cases well known to surgeons. A needle is quicklyand easily picked up after partial insertion by inserting the holderuntil the lips 3 rest on the needle and then close the aws or members,this movement will force the needle into accurate position in the end ofthe holder.

hat is claimed is 1- 1. A needle holder comprising a jaw memoperatingwith the inclined edge of the first mentioned jaw member to hold aneedle thereagainst, and a rocking member sup;

ported by the second mentioned jaw member and provided with a tipcooperating with the inclined edge of the first mentioned jaw member.the said first mentioned jaw member being provided with a seat betweenits pivot and its end.

2. A needle holder comprising a pair of hinged needle holding aws ormembers, and a rocking member mounted on one jaw member and extendingbeyond the end thereof and operated by the other jaw member for clampinga needle between the three eoat't ing members.

A needle holder comprising a pair of hinged needle holding jaw membersone ol which has a terminal side bearing face and the other an inclinedterminal end bearing face combined with a rocking member operated by thejaw members and having an under bearing face said faces coat-ting toform a needle clamp.

4. A needle holder comprising a pair of crosshinged needle holding jawmembers, and a rocking member independently movable by said jaw membersand having an overhanging tip said tip adapted to swing over said jawmembers and coact therewith to form a needle clamp.

5. A needle holder comprising a. pair of needle holding aw men'ibers,inwardly projecting lips on one of said members to form a needlesupport, and a rocking member removably supported and operated by saidaw members and having an overhanging tip on its outer end adapted touncover said projecting lips when the needle holder is open and to swingover them and the end of the opposite jaw member when the holder isclosed.

(3. A needle holder comprising a pair of needle holding jaw members,inwardly projecting lips forming a needle support on one of said membersbelow its outer end, an inclined end on the other jaw member to raise aneedle above said lips, and a rocking member having an overhanging tipadapted to be brought over said lips and inclined end on the second jawmember to form a needle clamp between the tip, the inclined end andinner face of said jaw members.

7. A needle holder con'lprising a jaw member having a central.longitudinal slot at its end dividing its grasping surface, a needlesupporting lip below each part of said grasping surface and a bridgepiece below and above said lip, a second jaw member pivoted to the firstmember and having a projection received in the said slot of the firstmentioned member, the said second mentioned jaw member having a beveledgrasping end arranged to pass beneath a needle upon the lip and raise ittherefrom, and a rocking member supported and operated by the move mentof the two jaw members and provided when the jaw members are closed andto swing back from such position when the members are opened.

8. A needle holder comprising clamping members having each a graspingsurface at one end and operative means at the other, one of saidclamping members having a needle support, and a third member operated bythe movement of the other members and provided with an overhanging tiphaving a grasping surface, the three surfaces cooperating to clamp aneedle.

9. A needle holder comprising clamping members having each a graspingsurface on a one end and operative means on the other, one of saidmembers having a support for a needle below the grasping surface, theother member having an inclined end to raise the needle from saidsupport, and a third member hinged to one of said clamping members androcked on said hinge by the other clamping member when moved, said thirdmember having an overhanging tip with an inner grasping surface thethree surfaces arranged to cooperate and grasp a needle when saidhandles are closed.

10. A needle holder comprising a jaw member having a centrallongitudinal slot at its end dividing its grasping surface, a needlesupporting lip below each part of said grasping surface and a bridgepiece above and below said lips, combined with a second jaw memberhaving a projection adapted to enter the aforesaid slot and a beveledgrasping end arranged to pass beneath a needle and raise it from saidlips, and a rocking member supported and operated by the movement of theother members and provided with a projecting tip having a bearingsurface adapted to cooperate with similar surfaces on the jaw members toclamp a needle.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALVIN F. SETHER.

Witnesses:

E. B. STEWART, J. L. CAMPBELL.

